Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Adams County, Indiana, has about 37,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Adams County Sheriff's Office and two city agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Adams Circuit and Superior Courts. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Adams County public records, Indiana arrest records, Indiana inmate search and Indiana criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Adams County
The Adams County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Adams County. It reported 70 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Adams County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Decatur, 10,072 residents: 97 arrests reported for 2025.
- Berne, 4,310 residents: 64 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Adams County
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Decatur: 97 for 2025 and 99 for 2024.
- Adams County Sheriff's Office: 70 for 2025 and 108 for 2024.
- Berne: 64 for 2025 and 67 for 2024.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 231 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 231 in 2025 against 274 in 2024, down 16 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 192 arrests, against 144 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Adams County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Adams County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 99 people, down from about 150 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 241 beds, and it ran at 41 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Adams County Sheriff's Office at adamscosheriff.net/portal/Jail?hours=24 (page title: Inmates | ISOMS Portal), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Indiana Department of Correction lists its inmates at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Adams County
An arrest in Adams County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Adams Circuit and Superior Courts, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at co.adams.in.us/187/Superior-Court, phone 260-724-5347); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at co.adams.in.us/184/Prosecutors-Office, phone 260-724-5338).
Statewide, mycase.IN.gov is the Indiana courts' free statewide case search.
Indiana is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online, through the Indiana State Police. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Adams County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act the agency must answer within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email, and it may charge a copy fee set by the agency, within statutory limits.
- An arrest by the Adams County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Decatur or Berne: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 260-724-5338, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Adams Circuit and Superior Courts, through the court records page at co.adams.in.us/187/Superior-Court, phone 260-724-5347.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Adams County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, DUI, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Adams County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the four cities in Adams County: Decatur and Berne. Geneva and Monroe have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Adams Circuit and Superior Courts.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Adams County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Decatur (10,072)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Adams County each year?
Decatur reported 97 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 231 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Adams County?
Ask the Adams County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at adamscosheriff.net/portal/Jail?hours=24.
Where are people arrested in Adams County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Adams County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Indiana State Police: the Limited Criminal History search is open to anyone online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Adams County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Adams County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act the answer is due within 24 hours for a request made in person and 7 days for one sent by mail or email.
Is this the official Adams County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.